You think you know Pelagic Records pretty well, do you? Well this release may surprise you.
As the first fuzzy bass notes and powerful intro, break down to a soulful croon Jaye Jayle is clearly already not consulting any rulebooks at all. Opening track “Father Fiction” recalls recent Zeal and Ardor with added Vaudeville touches in its funeral march. “Doctor Green” seems to be an ode to the devil’s lettuce and would not sound out of place on the Lost Highway soundtrack, again it staggers along and takes its time encouraging you to turn on, tune in and drop out. It might just be a song about an actual doctor but I doubt it. “Fear Is Here” stays in the slow lane with almost proggy twists and turns melodically speaking. The ghost of slow burn blues haunts this entire album but in the ragged Tom Waits-fashion rather than the twelve-bar kind. Then just as you’re surrendering to the void, “Blackout” arrives on a fuzzy stomp that would be warmly welcomed at any Desert Session. “Bloody Me”, recalls Sabbath when they were playing with Jazz Blues. The bass tone is so absolutely Geezer-esque and the bassline could easily have been on Masters Of Reality. “Small Dark Voices” is a piece of delightfully retro Dark Electronica and just provides a different sound palette and a surprise swerve we weren’t expecting. Then comes the biggest surprise, a cover of The Beatles’ “Help!” that bares no resemblance to the original (a huge plus for me in a cover version) this is destined for a very dark film soundtrack, if they can get permission for it, I’m sure.
A crackling LoFi reprise of “Bloody Me” is the final song on this release and signs off this haunting collection perfectly.
Definitely left field, really exciting and one for fans of pitch black music on lonely highway journeys to nowhere.
